Fumble Not on Craig's List of Bad Memories

 

Giant Fumble Doesn't Haunt Ex-Husker

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By Randy York

A story published Tuesday in the San Jose Mercury News is getting re-distributed to Husker fans across the country, and it focuses on one play: A Roger Craig fumble against the New York Giants that cost the San Francisco 49ers a fourth Super Bowl championship for the ex-Husker I-back and his teammates. Now 51, Craig is the vice president of business development for Tibco Software Inc., in Palo Alto, Calif. According to the Mercury News, "Craig's name is sure to come up this week, with the 49ers needing a victory over New York on Sunday to reach Super Bowl XLVI."

Well, the most interesting fact in the story doesn't make Craig's List of Bad Memories. His fumble was the last time he carried the ball for the 49ers, ending what the Mercury News accurately describes as a career worthy of Hall-of-Fame consideration. "It's just one play," said Craig, a four-time Pro Bowl player. "That's part of the game. It wasn't meant to be. Joe (Montana) got hurt. The defense couldn't stop them ... there's never one play where you win or lose. You win or lose as a team."

Spoken like a true gentleman who played for football fans who understand that simple truth, even if it is a concept that seems to escape those who cover and watch pro football. "Let's be honest here," Craig told me. "There aren't any fans anywhere that compare to Nebraska football fans. I mean, I played on three Super Bowl-winning teams, and there hasn't been one stadium or one crowd anywhere that compares to a Nebraska football crowd that shows up every Saturday to fill the house.

"Nebraska has the best game-day atmosphere in football - college or pro," Craig told me. "They support you whether you're up or down, and they treat the opposing team with more respect than any fans in America. I grew up dreaming of playing in Memorial Stadium, and all I can tell the players who are there now is enjoy it while you're there, and create your own legacy because you'll never experience anything like it the rest of your life.

"Nebraska lived up to everything I thought it was, but the older I get, the more I realize what made Nebraska more special than anyplace else - it was the fans," Craig said. "To hear that cheer when you come out of the locker room ... oh my gosh. Other stadiums are not like Nebraska. I've played all over the world and all over the NFL. I've played in London, and I've played in Japan. No one compares. Who else besides Nebraska would put 50,000 in the Rose Bowl or take 40,000 to Hawaii?"

Craig will never forget the 30,000 Nebraska fans who attended the USC game in LA in 2006. "When I got up to leave," he said, "several thousand fans started chanting my name. I couldn't believe it. I'd been gone from Nebraska for 25 years!

"I get goose bumps just thinking about how loyal Nebraska football fans really are," Craig said. "I lived for that cheer, and I still cherish that cheer. Nebraska fans will go anywhere in the world to support their team. I tell my friends here in the Bay Area that if someone ever decided to play a game on Mars, I know Nebraska fans would find a way to get up there and watch it."

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I remember being at the NU vs Cal game in 1998. Before the game Roger was walking around the stadium in the 1st row aisle (I was sitting in row 2). The Nebraska fans were cheering him for his time as a Husker and the Cal fans were cheering him for his time as a 49er. Not many former players get to experience that. Biff Jones, New Orleans, Louisiana